Mt. Hebron wakes up, spikes Thomas Stone

November 15, 1995|By Bill Free | Bill Free,SUN STAFF

LA PLATA -- The mere mention of Centennial in the Mount Hebron huddle during a first-game timeout last night was all the No. 2 Vikings needed.

"We said if we can beat Centennial, we can't lose to these guys," said Mount Hebron's Kate Hannas who was as shocked as anybody when Thomas Stone jumped off to a 6-0 lead in the first game of the state Class 3A semifinals at La Plata High School.

Hannas came out of the timeout and virtually took over the match with an assortment of kills, blocks and dumps to lead the recharged Vikings past Thomas Stone, 16-14, 15-2, 15-5, and into the state 3A championship game Saturday at Catonsville Community College at 5 p.m.

Mount Hebron (17-2) will meet the winner of tonight's Thomas Johnson-Fallston 3A semifinal match for the title. That match was scheduled for La Plata High last night but was postponed until tonight because TJ could not travel due to bad weather in Frederick County.

The Vikings had gained a berth in last night's state 3A semifinal by fighting off two match points in the fourth game and winning in five games against defending state 3A champion Centennial last Friday night in the 3A East Region championship game.

That big victory over Howard County rival Centennial in the region final was certainly an emotional one for Mount Hebron.

Thomas Stone coach Linda Curry said she knew her players might be in awe of Mount Hebron once they heard about the win over Centennial, so she tried to cushion the news by telling her team that Centennial had lost a lot of talented players from last season.

It didn't matter.

Yesterday, Mount Hebron was simply too strong for Thomas Stone even though the Vikings played the entire match without outstanding setter Sylvia Kaltreider who was out with a sore ankle. Kaltreider was injured Monday in practice and could have been used in an emergency.

"I preferred not to play," said Kaltreider. "It was hard to move forwards and backward. I wanted to wait until the championship match when I was healthier."

Mount Hebron coach Daryl Beard said his words during the first-game timeout weren't as dramatic as his players' were.